www.dsk.com.au

Due to (some) public demand, and being a new member, I’ll start posting pics of our 1961 ex-PMG panel that we purchased in December 2014 requiring a full resto.

To set the record straight, we had no mechanical or panel beating/welding experience so had to outsource this work. We relied on advice from multiple sources, some good, some bad, and made a few mates along the way.

We made a few mistakes, maybe a few more than a few, wasting time and money, until we had the right people in our corner, and we hit the road in November 2017. I’ll acknowledge these mistakes as the pictures are posted.

First inspection….

Back home in the shed…

Nice work mate, those side windows looked interesting

MID WEST DUBBER wrote: ↑Thu Dec 02, 2021 9:43 pm Nice work mate, those side windows looked interesting

My thoughts exactly Rusty!

Check the non-vw tail lights cut in. I think someone said they were Holden FC’s or something. However, bus came with replacement later model taillights for 62- bus but I was none the wiser they weren’t year correct. So don’t chip me for the wrong taillights down the track…

So there were these strange metal square tubes coming out the side of the bus on either side. Thought the previous owners must have had some sort of awning set up that the poles slotted in to. Not needed anymore, cut them off. Turned out they were the jacking points.

Nose had been smashed in multiple times and bogged to the max but thought might get away with only replacing the rusted lower outer and inner section.

Wife said if the kids can’t sit in the back, the bus goes. Fair enough but I didn’t want them sitting in the dark so I sourced two glassed low hinge doors from Brisbane. Front solid cargo low hinge door was later sold to Gordon over in Freo, the rear high hinge glassed cargo door (which previous owners had converted C pillar to high hinge) went to Ian in Adelaide.

Again, previous owners had cut out the spare wheel bulkhead section. Sheeted it up flat and left it at that. In hindsight, I wish I had replaced it but that could be a job for another day/owner

The rumour about the history of the bus was that it was used up Mildura way. By the amount of fine red sand and crud I had to remove, I’d believe it. Did it by hand being the novice I was. The floor was pretty solid with only a few small rust holes on the long side towards the rear and by the cargo doors.

Long side and near side sills rusted

More dirt and dust and cleaning….

With the Holden tail lights removed, this is what was revealed. Again having no idea about being period correct, both top round holes and bottom square holes were welded up. The replacement tail lights as previously mentioned were later cut in. Another mistake by the novice restorer.

And this was about the time that Fifty Shades of Kevin got his name when we started stripping off the multiple layers of house and automotive paint and whatever else the previous owners could get their hands on. The pure joy involving hours of elbow grease and chemicals etc made me question what the hell we were doing.